Early vascular aging and its relationship with the main components of metabolic syndrome

• Artur M. Tuktarov
• Andrey A. Obrezan
• Alexander E. Filippov
• Sergey L. Grishaev

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is associated with structural and functional vascular changes which may lead to increased arterial stiffness and, as a consequence, the formation of early vascular aging.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the main components of MS and the markers of early vascular aging (EVA-syndrome)

Material and methods. The 1^st group included metabolically healthy individuals, 39 men aged from 30 to 69 years (mean age - 47.9±1.68 years). The 2^nd group consisted of 59 men of comparable age (mean age - 49.5±0.88 years) with diagnosed MS according to the IDF criteria. Vascular age was assessed by the aging index, which was determined by photoplethysmography.

Results. In patients with MS, the vascular age was significantly higher than in the control group (52.8±2.22 versus 40.3±2.37 years, p<0.001). Diastolic blood pressure (β=0.241; p=0.023) and waist circumference (β=0.332; p=0.005) were significantly associated with early vascular aging in multivariate regression analysis. The vascular age of patients with a combination of the classic four components of MS - abdominal obesity, arterial hypertension, fasting hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia, was 64.6+10.21 years (OR 4.3; 4.3; 3.3; 2.9 respectively, p<0.001).

Conclusion. Some components of MS can lead to progression of vascular aging. Notably, besides age and increased blood pressure, the abdominal obesity makes a significant contribution to the development of EVA syndrome, which emphasizes the importance of this indicator as the main component of MS.

Keywords:arterial stiffness, vascular age, metabolic syndrome, early vascular aging

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